WARNING: Due to the nature of the question being answered in this post, there are some SPOILERS AHEAD for the following movies. We've listed the titles first so you can decide if you'd like to read on or skip. Please proceed with caution!
In a recent viral thread, redditor u/Kilo_616 asked, "What’s a good fucked-up movie?" and, WHEW, did movie lovers come through with some A+, nightmare-inducing recommendations.
So, with that in mind, here are some of the most popular responses shared:
1. Threads (1984)
"It's a depiction of nuclear war that is unanimously loved over in r/horror. A year after seeing it, it still bothers me."
"When I was 9, we moved into a house. The previous tenants had left some old VHS tapes (this was '98), and one was labelled the The Wizard of Oz. So we put it in to watch while my mom went and did whatever mom did back then. Turns out, they'd had taped over The Wizard of Oz with Threads. I watched it with my 8-year-old sister and it totally fucked us up. I couldn't understand why mankind would have such horrible things that could cause such horrible pain, it baffled me and I'm pretty sure that it is my first recollection of true anxiety."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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2. Nightcrawler (2014)
"This movie is straight-up about how a person with no empathy uses media desire for gore to enrich himself, and his lack of emotion regarding people is really fucking creepy."
"I still can't watch Jake Gyllenhaal in ANYTHING without my skin crawling. This movie is extremely tame compared to some of the movies I've seen recommended, but Gyllenhaal does such a great job of being evil and sleezy, it makes me want to take a scalding hot shower."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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3. The Road (2009)
"The basement scene is so messed up. I want to watch it again, but it's so sad."
"Dude, the part where they catch the mom and her kid in the truck cage messed me up. It made me wonder what I’d do if it were me and my kid. Just the bleakest possible outcomes from start to finish with that film."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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4. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
"I was not expecting the tone of that movie at all!"
"I love the moral of this movie's story: if you follow your dreams, and with a little bit of magic, you'll get shot in the gut and bleed out."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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5. American Psycho (2000)
"I would argue this movie is kind of fucked-up, but it’s also just so fucking funny."
"I always laugh at how coincidental it is that Christian Bale (a former Batman) slaughters Jared Leto (a former Joker) in that movie!"
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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6. Martyrs (2008)
"The original French version is weirdly beautiful in a very morbid way."
"This movie really just puts you in an uncomfortable place by the end. French horror is weird."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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7. Swiss Army Man (2016)
"That was quite a journey. Honestly, I sat there for five minutes afterwards wondering what the hell I just watched."
"A friend and I took acid then closed our eyes while scrolling through Netflix and this is what came on. We watched this without even knowing the title. Talk about a mindfuck!"
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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8. Se7en (1995)
"Everyone knows the 'What's in the box?!' quote, almost as if it's a joke/meme. I always wonder how many of them have actually seen the movie."
"I had not heard that joke before I saw the movie, so I was SHOCKED."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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9. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
"I will always respond to a Dear Zachary recommendation. It's a great doc, it's so well made, but my one single watch will be the only time I will ever watch it. It made me sore physically, from the crying, tension, and anger, but I still highly recommend it. People often list Schindler's List as a one-time watch movie for them, but Dear Zachary was my one-time watch."
"The fact that movie was made because someone loved and cared about their best friend so much is something else."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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10. Sorry to Bother You (2018)
"That movie goes from 'Okay, this is funny in an offbeat way' to '...did someone slip me acid?' within like five minutes."
"I went and watched this on Netflix after watching the trailer. I thought I knew what the twist was, then I thought I knew what the twist was...then I knew what the twist was...then, I was like, 'What the fuck did I just watch?!'"
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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11. Hard Candy (2005)
"I was so deeply uncomfortable watching this movie that I started laughing involuntarily. It creeped my partner out so much that the reaction was referenced during the break-up shortly thereafter."
"Damn, Elliot Page owns that movie. A phenomenal performance by a young person in what is really a two actor, full-length piece. It is really distributing content, too."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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12. Event Horizon (1997)
"The best Warhammer 40k movie that isn't a Warhammer 40k movie."
"I saw Event Horizon in the theaters thinking it was just going to be a sci-fi suspense movie. I had no idea it was going to be a horror movie. I was shook for a few hours after that movie."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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13. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
"It's not the kind of movie you make a habit of watching, but it is quite brilliant and profound."
"Not knowing anything about it, I took a first date to it. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a second date."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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14. Let the Right One In (2008)
"It's a Swedish vampire movie involving children. It took me a few days to get over that one, but it's good."
"We watched this in my high school Horror Literature class. I'm not sure showing it to bunch of teenagers was the best idea, but it was so good!"
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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15. The Deer Hunter (1978)
"It’s an emotional beating, and you only need to see it once, but it’s a masterpiece. It gave me nightmares for a few days after I watched it."
"I was full-on depressed for two weeks after seeing that movie. It’s an excellent movie, but rough on the emotions."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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16. Hereditary (2018)
"It didn’t exactly scare me, but it made me leave the theater feeling gross and like I saw something I shouldn’t have."
"That’s a good way of putting it. I didn’t know what kind of ‘horror’ I was going to get from this movie, but it had me thinking for a couple days. It did a good job of dragging you down alongside all of the other characters spiraling downwards."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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17. The Lobster (2015)
"I loved that movie. The stiffness in the air that comes from all the awkward forced interactions between the characters leaves you squirming throughout the entire movie in a good way. The most jarring part for me (and my favorite scene by far) was when that 5-year-old girl just straight up orders her mom to kill the protagonist like he’s a spider or something."
"Nothing about this movie felt predictable, and all of it was odd and uncomfortable in the best way."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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18. Mandy (2018)
"I get so frustrated trying to tell people why this movie is so good because I don't have the cinema/writing/critical background to articulate just how different and amazing and special this movie felt. Like, if you could somehow ONLY take the good parts of Hellraiser, Conan, House of 1000 Corpses, and every fridged girlfriend revenge flick ever made, and still make a sick action/horror film — this would be it, and a visually stunning one at that."
"I think the score/soundtrack is what really made that movie. A dark masterpiece. I kind of knew about it going in, but was totally unprepared for how intense it would all be. Everyone leaving the theater was dazed, and I couldn't get over how different I felt knowing, experiencing, and appreciating all of it. There are darker, more violent, depraved movies, but nothing is quite like Mandy."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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19. Uncut Gems (2019)
"It's an hour and a half of a man making the wrong choice every chance he gets. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire movie."
"It took me three separate sittings to get through the whole thing. Goddamn is it good at creating incredibly stressful tension that never releases."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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20. The Cell (2000)
"I loved that film when it came out back when I was in college. It's visually gorgeous (the director had previously done a number of famous music videos – including REM's Losing My Religion – and it shows). It has a solid plot and surprisingly good acting from Jennifer Lopez (probably her best film)."
"That one horse scene fucked me up and stuck with me. Hell if I know what the rest of the movie was about other than a horse getting instantaneously vivisected."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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21. The Vanishing (1988)
"The original Dutch version. The scene at the end where the main character wakes up to realize he's been buried alive is probably the most long-term horrifying thing I've ever been exposed to. It took me weeks to get over that and stop thinking about it all the time. Not just bad because it's bad, but because the main character chose it."
"I'm so glad someone else brought this movie up. The original is far and away the scariest movie ever to me, primarily because it's so real. There's no monsters. No complex Saw traps. Just a fucking lunatic who buries people alive."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
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22. Titane (2021)
"This movie starts fucked and gets fuckeder and fuckeder — in a wholesome way, though."
"It's a good movie! It may not be everyone's taste, but its originality can't be disputed. Disturbing and poignant."
You can watch the trailer here (if you dare):
View this video on YouTube
You've read their recommendations, but now it's your turn! What would you say is a "good" fucked-up movie? Share your pick(s) in the comments below!
Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity. H/T Reddit.